Back to school day for the government. The Council of Ministers returns this Wednesday after a few weeks of more or less studious vacations depending on the ministries. In Bercy, among the priorities is the completion of the 2024 budget.
Except that another budgetary text will be examined first in the Assembly: the public finance programming law. A very technical text but one that could contribute tens of billions of euros to the state coffers.
A text blocked by Les Républicains
The public finance programming law often goes unnoticed. It is a question of voting on the budget trajectory of France for the period of five years. The text is not binding on the government and is always adopted with relative indifference in the Assembly.
Except that the issues are radically different this year because the programming law is part of France’s commitments to Brussels to receive funds from the European recovery plan. France has promised that this text will be voted on to demonstrate its budgetary seriousness throughout the five-year term.
It’s just that the government can’t do it, because of the elected LR who block the text. They consider that the Executive is too slow in terms of savings and in returning the deficit to below 3%. As a result, last year both sides failed to get this programming law passed.
28 billion European funds blocked
It remains to be seen if the LR will be convinced this year, with a budget placed under the sign of savings and a new, more offensive stability program for the restoration of public accounts.
And the financial risks are considerable for most. Until the text is approved, Brussels will prevent France from paying 28 billion euros. Bercy should have already received 11 billion last year and an additional 7 billion is planned for this year. An impossible manna to ignore when it comes to restoring public accounts.
Source: BFM TV
